Reciprocating grill type barn cleaner



March 13, 1956 o. PEARsoN 2,737,925

RECIPROCATING GRILL TYPE BARN CLEANER Filed Feb. 13, 1955 C@ @D @D chi L Clll 244 Qu; Al

INVENToR. 07-1-0 @maso/v S BY y i United States Patent O 227371.925. nnclPRoCATnsG GRILL TYPE'BARN cLnnNnn Ottolearspn, Sultan, Application February 13, 1953, Serial No. 336,783

4 Claims. (Cl. 119-16) This invention relates to a new and improved barn cleaner and is an improvement on my copending, but now abandoned, application Serial No. 151,573, tiled March 24, 1950.

The present invention has for its principal object the provision of a guard means for preventing the cows from stepping in the gutter in which the barn cleaner is mounted and thus being injured or interfering with the operation of the barn cleaner which depends upon the motor for clearing the gutter of manure. Where a cow lies down upon the barn cleaners of the prior art, the same are stopped and cannot be operated by the usual motor, so that either the fuse is burned out or the belt slips, but in any event, the gutter is not cleared.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a clock or time control for the motor that drives the present barn cleaner so that in combination with the guard above referred to, which prevents the cows from stopping the motion of the barn cleaner, it now becomes possible to arrange an automatic control so that the farmer need not go into the barn at all and need not get up in the night-time to go out and turn the switch to energize the barn cleaner, it being pointed out that as is well known, the barn cleaner should operate every three hours or so for relatively short periods of time in order not to become over-loaded, and for efficient cleaning operation.

The invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal medial section view through a gutter showing the novel guard in combination with the barn cleaner;

Fig. 2 is a modied top plan View of the guard, parts being broken away; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section transversely of the guard and barn cleaner, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

In the present case, there is provided a gutter inthe oor of the barn, this gutter preferably being formed of concrete side walls and bottom and the same is indicated at 10. In this gutter, and well below the top thereof, there is disposed a barn cleaner, the details of which may be as desired, but which may follow the construction in my above-mentioned application for patent.

In general, this barn cleaner comprises a frame composed of two spaced longitudinal stringers or rails 12 which are adapted to be reciprocated in the gutter by means of a crank 14. The rails have swingingly mounted therebetween a series of paddles 16 and each paddle has associated therewith a stop or stops 18 so that as the frame 12, 12 is reciprocated in one direction, the paddles of one section thereof Will remain upright and push the manure in steps toward the center of the device approximately at location 20 in Fig. l. The remaining paddles to the right end of the device in Fig. 1 are free to swing upon pivots 22 to rise up over the mounds of manure 2,737,925 Patented Mar.. 1 3, 19.56

which have been previously pushed to the left. It is believed that this step-by-step clear to those skilled in the art.

The barn door is indicated at 24 and this is the level.

upon which the cows walk. In the prior art, the paddles 16 were relatively higher. in the gutter 'than those herein shown and a cow upon lying down would contact these paddles and prevent the barn cleaner from operating,

so that. the farmer was under the compulsion off'makingt night to turn on the switch. However, if a cow shouldV step in the gutter or lie down on it, the barn cleaner is stopped from working and damage may be done to the cow or to the device as Well as to the motor and the electric circuit.

The guard proposed by the present invention completely avoids this diiiculty and protects the barn cleaner from being stepped on or contacted in any way by the cows, which can walk upon the guard without hooves getting through the guard, and bearing the weight of any cows which may lie down on it.

This guard comprises a series of cross braces or brackets 26, each of which has an end 28 embedded in the concrete and coplanar with surface 24. These members depend below the surface 24 and form a support for a series of longitudinal bars 3) which are spaced close enough together to prevent the entry therebetween of the cows hooves. These bars rest upon their edges upon the assembled brackets 26 and are held in spaced relation by means of rods 32 extending through the bars and having sections of pipe 34 or other spacer means mounted thereon and spacing the respective bars 30.

The rods 32 are threaded at 36 into the vertical ange 38 of an angle iron 40. The bars 32 are also threaded at 42 and receive a nut 46 which is tightened up upon the bar to secure the entire assembly in rigid relation to the longitudinal` angle iron 44. The ends of the bars as at 48 are sunk into the concrete, see Fig. 3.

This construction may be made substantially continuous as in Fig. l, or repeated in sections as indicated in Fig. 2, so as to completely protect the barn cleaner and the gutter, and this allows the use of the above mentioned conventional time switch or the like which may be inserted in the circuit with the motor which drives the crank 14. Thus the barn cleaner is operable around the clock without attention on the part of the farmer and at the same time the barn cleaner cannot be damaged by the animals.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. A guard for barn cleaner gutters having side walls, said guard comprising a series of brackets extending transversely in spaced relation across the gutter, vertical portions for each bracket extending down into the gutter from the floor of the barn and a central cemented portion, a series of spaced parallel longitudinal flat bars disposed upon the central portion of said brackets transversely thereof and longitudinally of the gutter, means spacing said bars, and means anchoring said bars to the brackets,

said bars being located on edge on the brackets and having their uppermost long edges forming a support for the cows, said support being co-planar with the floor of the barn,

barn cleaner process. will be 2. The guard of claim 1 wherein said anchoring means comprises transverse rods each having an end sunk in a wall of the gutter and each rod extending through each bar.

3. The guard of claim 1 wherein said anchoring means comprises transverse rods each having an end sunk in a wall of the gutter and each rod extending through each bar, cach rod also extending through a bracket vertical portion.

4. The guard of claim 1 wherein said anchoring means comprises transverse rods each having an end sunk in a wall of the gutter and each rod extending through each bar, each rod also extending through a bracket vertical portion, and the spacing means including short pipe sections on the rods and contacting the bars in pairs.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 305,299 Edwards Sept. 16, 1884 1,186,444 Schuchardt June 6, 1916 1,388,860 Higdon Aug. 30, 1921 1,529,460 Bremer Mar. 10, 1925 1,711,004 Youngman Apr. 30, 1929 2,535,795 Henningsen Dec. 26, 1950 

